Adoptive Parents and Parenting

Please find some of our best articles, essays and reviews on this topic.

For more topics and articles, check out our full listing on our Resource Library.

From personal stories of becoming an adoptive family to well-researched advice from experts about how to be the best adoptive parent possible, Pact provides information and opportunities to learn from those who have come before you. Topics include personal stories of adoption, challenges in adoption; how to talk with children, family friends, and strangers about adoption; transracial adoption; LGBT adoption; single-parent adoption; parenting birth (born-to) and adopted children together; and same-race adoption.

If you prefer, you can use our Library Search Tool to search by title or author. All the material in this section is copyrighted by Pact; for permission to reproduce or re-post it, please contact us at education@pactadopt.org.

• "Racially Conscientious" - Parenting In A "Colorblind" Society
  by Terry Keleher (2011 | 124 KB | )
  
• 5 Stages of the Adoption Process
  by Pact (2011 | 536 KB | )
  
• A Father From the Beginning
  by George Harrar (2011 | 111 KB | )
  
• Adoption and My Life
  by Gail Steinberg (1997 | 91 KB | )
  
• Adoption Reversals
  by Michael Trout (1998 | 98 KB | )
  
• Adoption, Race and Where’s the Hairbrush?
  by Lisa Lerner (2008 | 117 KB | )
  
• Adoption, Racism and "The Prophet"
  by Eloise Rivera (1997 | 92 KB | )
  
• Adoptive Parents and Expectant Parents Alike: Preparing for a Healthy, Lifelong Relationship
  by Leslie Foge, MA, MFT (2012 | 128 KB | )
  
• All of Nathan’s Family
  by Pamela, Barbara, Suzanne & John (1997 | 91 KB | )
  
• Alternative Altars: Honoring the Loss in Adoption
  by Martha Rynberg (2012 | 100 KB | )
  
• An Entrustment Journey
  by Fran Cooper Materra (1995 | 312 KB | )
  
• Arrival Adjustment: The Post-Adoption Blues
  by Patricia Irwin Johnston (2008 | 326 KB | )
  
• Ask a First Mother: Who are Adoptive Childrens’ Forever Parents?
  by Susan Dusza Guerra Leksander (2012 | 456 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Keeping it "Real," How to Talk About All Your Child’s Parents
  (2011 | 119 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Taking Risks and Making Connections
  by Martha Rynberg (2012 | 127 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Talking with a Preschooler about Birth Parents
  (2011 | 119 KB | )
  
• Assistance and Tax Benefits for Foster and Adoptive Parents
  by Pact (2011 | 533 KB | )
  
• Bastard Nation - What’s In a Name
  by Damsel Plum (1998 | 121 KB | )
  
• Beginnings
  by Susan Ito (2005 | 88 KB | )
  
• Birth Mother Survey
  (1997 | 96 KB | )
  
• Bonding and Attachment: How Does Adoption Affect a Newborn?
  by Gail Steinberg & Beth Hall (1998 | 406 KB | )
  
• Book Review: All Families Are Special
  by Norma Simon, Illustrated by Teresa Flavin (2004 | 408 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Happy Family
  by Wendy Lee (2008 | 406 KB | )
  
• Book Review: I Bet She Called Me Sugar Plum
  by Joanne Gabbin (2004 | 73 KB | )
  
• Book Review: In Their Parents’ Voices
  by Rita Simon and Rhonda Roorda  (2006 | 104 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Parenting Adopted Adolescents: Understanding and Appreciating Their Journeys
  by Gregory Keck (2009 | 408 KB | )
  
• Book Review: The Woman Who Raised Me
  by Victoria Rowell (2005 | 82 KB | )
  
• Book Review: You’re Not My REAL Mother!
  by Molly Friedrich (2005 | 83 KB | )
  
• Brown Babies, Pink Parents: A Practical Guide to Transracial Parenting
  by Amy Ford, Reviewed by Shannon Riehle (2011 | 101 KB | )
  
• Building Racial Identity
  by J. Todd Chas (1997 | 96 KB | )
  
• Can White People Nurture Black Kids Effectively?
  by RoAnne Elliot (1998 | 111 KB | )
  
• Changes in the Open Relationship
  by Candace Kunz (1992 | 95 KB | )
  
• Changes in the Open Relationship
  by Candace Kunz (1992 | 95 KB | )
  
• Dealing with Racism: Perspective of a White Transracial Adoptive Parent
  by Beth Hall (2012 | 163 KB | )
  
• Deciding About Decisions
  by Becca Martinson  (1994 | 96 KB | )
  
• Different Birth Families of Adopted Siblings
  by Pam Hutsell (1994 | 110 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner - Seeking Solutions
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (1992 | 105 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Adoptive Breastfeeding - Pact’s Point of View
  by Beth Hall, Molly Brannigan & Martha Rynberg (2011 | 487 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Evolving Conversations Should Parents Initiate Talk about Adoption or Wait for their Child’s Questions?
  by Beth Hall & Gail Steinberg (2010 | 104 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Getting Over It and Stepping It Up
  by Beth Hall (2011 | 130 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Naming NATE
  by Beth Hall & Gail Steinberg (2009 | 572 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Respecting Children’s Pain
  by Beth Hall (2011 | 123 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: Why Did This Happen To Us?
  by Beth Hall (2012 | 123 KB | )
  
• Does Fost-Adoption Encourage Healthy Growth?
  By Jodee Kulp (1995 | 333 KB | )
  
• Executive Parenting Strategies that Work
  by Jim Manhoney (1995 | 341 KB | )
  
• Exploring Openness - Inter Country Style
  by Sue Douglas (1992 | 118 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Surviving Foster Care - A Day with Shane Salter
  Interviewed by Roxanne Agur (1997 | 373 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: What Sophia Needed, Open Hearts, Open Minds
  (2011 | 1.85 MB | )
  
• Far Away From the Tigers: A Year in the Classroom with Internationally Adopted Children
  by Jane Katch, Reviewed by Alison Seevak (2011 | 113 KB | )
  
• Four Lifelong Issues in Adoption
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (2007 | 116 KB | )
  
• Gentle Transitions: A Newborn Baby’s Point of View about Adoption
  by Michael Trout (1997 | 101 KB | )
  
• Healing the Primal Wound
  by Nancy Verrier (1994 | 337 KB | )
  
• Helping Your Child Develop A Positive Racial/Ethnic Identity
  by Jeannie Lin (2000 | 57 KB | )
  
• How Did You Get So Close?
  by Holly van Gulden (1998 | 331 KB | )
  
• How Do We Measure Potential for Success in Adoptive Parents?
  by Beth Hall (2010 | 59 KB | )
  
• I Am an Adoptive Parent to Be -- We Are an Adoptive Family to Me
  by Desiree Corbett Korelich (2005 | 81 KB | )
  
• If The Shoe Doesn’t Fit
  by Gail Steinberg (1995 | 131 KB | )
  
• Infertility and Aftershocks
  by Patricia Irwin Johnston (1998 | 336 KB | )
  
• Is it Private or Is it Secret? Sorting Out What to Tell Whom
  by Pat Irwin Johnston, MS (2011 | 125 KB | )
  
• Jigsaw Puzzle: Adopted Children of Color
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (1992 | 118 KB | )
  
• Keeping In Touch
  by Carmen Rodriguez (1995 | 103 KB | )
  
• Kinship Style - Open, Closed, or Shifting
  by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall (1994 | 104 KB | )
  
• Latino and Asian Children in White Homes
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (1995 | 116 KB | )
  
• Laughter, Attachment and Adopting Older Kids
  by Pat O’Brien (1996 | 340 KB | )
  
• Letter From a Birth Father
  by David Jones (1997 | 107 KB | )
  
• Letter to the Editor - Mother’s Day
  by Janet Herring-Sherman (1994 | 95 KB | )
  
• Listen
  by Jane Brown (1998 | 318 KB | )
  
• Living An Open Adoption
  by Jennifer Ferrara (1997 | 120 KB | )
  
• Looking At Kinship Adoption - Hammering Out Bits And Pieces Of The Elephant: An Interview with Sharon Kaplan Roszia
  Interviewed by Gail Steinberg (1993 | 340 KB | )
  
• Losing Lauren
  by Rachel Angeline (1994 | 324 KB | )
  
• Mia’s Art: What I Learned From My Daughter’s Self Portrait
  by Elise Crum (2010 | 101 KB | )
  
• Noble Choice - Or No Choice?
  by Paula O’Loughlin (2010 | 123 KB | )
  
• Non-Adoptee Privilege
  by Kelly Reineke (2009 | 67 KB | )
  
• Not Just "White Parents with Kids of Color" - The Importance of Racial Identity Work for Parents
  by Gina Miranda Samuels, Ph.D., MSSW (2012 | 129 KB | )
  
• Open Adoption Relationships
  by Becca Martinson (1992 | 111 KB | )
  
• Our International Adoption Packing List
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (2000 | 109 KB | )
  
• Pact Family Stories
  (2012 | 2.54 MB | )
  
• Pact Family Stories: Up Close and Personal with Jamie Lee Curtis - an Interview with an Adoptive Mom
  Interviewed by Gail Steinberg (1997 | 413 KB | )
  
• Pact’s Perspective on Therapy and Adoption
  by Jeannie Lin in collaboration with Pact staff (2004 | 340 KB | )
  
• Prenatal Trauma and the Adoptee Experience
  by Sally Clark (1996 | 112 KB | )
  
• Prepare In Order To Protect
  by Beth Hall (2009 | 56 KB | )
  
• Proactive Parenting: How to Recognize Issues and When to Seek Help
  by Dee A. Paddock (1998 | 327 KB | )
  
• Promoting Understanding of Adoption Issues
  by Patricia Irwin Johnston (1993 | 337 KB | )
  
• Question and Answer with Adam Pertman
  (2011 | 127 KB | )
  
• Quien Yo Soy? Identity Issues in Trans-ethnically Adopted Children
  by Beth Hall (1992 | 108 KB | )
  
• Raising Kids Multiculturally
  by Ann Freeman (1994 | 107 KB | )
  
• Recognizing Loss
  Becca Martinson (1994 | 106 KB | )
  
• Rejoice in What Unites Us - Creating Kinship Systems
  by Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg (1994 | 110 KB | )
  
• Shared Fate in Gay & Lesbian Families
  by Julie Randolph (2004 | 94 KB | )
  
• So You Want To Open Your Child’s Adoption
  by Leslie Foge (2004 | 332 KB | )
  
• Speaking of Birth Parents
  by Marta Barton and Beth Hall (2000 | 125 KB | )
  
• Still Parenting After All These Years
  by Gail Steinberg (1992 | 96 KB | )
  
• Still Parenting After All These Years
  by Gail Steinberg (1992 | 96 KB | )
  
• The Benefits of Co-Sleeping
  by Molly Brannigan (2009 | 350 KB | )
  
• The Dance of Trust
  by Becca Martinson (1992 | 104 KB | )
  
• The Decision Makers?
  by Barbara Termitiere (1995 | 324 KB | )
  
• The Godparents Council
  by Michael-David Sasson and Kirsten Cross (2010 | 122 KB | )
  
• The Importance of Support
  by Becca Martinson (1992 | 94 KB | )
  
• The Optimal Adoptive Launch
  by Michael D. Trout (1994 | 346 KB | )
  
• The Savior Syndrome
  by Becca Martinson (1994 | 91 KB | )
  
• The Tapestry of My Life
  by Holly van Gulden (1994 | 323 KB | )
  
• Transracial Adoption - A Response to Jim Mahoney
  by Theresa Hughes (1992 | 108 KB | )
  
• Twice a Mother - Unexpected Paths
  by Rachel Angeline (1997 | 109 KB | )
  
• Twinning Through Adoption
  by Kimberly Simpson (1997 | 94 KB | )
  
• Union and Transitions: A Ceremony of Entrustment
  by Rebecca Weller (1997 | 346 KB | )
  
• We Are Family
  by Marcia Burnell (1998 | 112 KB | )
  
• When Do You Follow When Do You Lead - Talking to Children About Adoption
  by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall (2002 | 127 KB | )
  
• When Racism is Part of the Story
  by Beth Hall & Gail Steinberg (1998 | 128 KB | )
  
• Which Comes First?
  by Lynn Lape (1994 | 108 KB | )
  
• White Parents Identity
  by Deborah Haynor & Lori Miller (2006 | 121 KB | )
  

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